Bridgerton's Adjoa Andoh had to do own hair and makeup in early days of career

11 October 2023 , 16:49

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Adjoa Andoh says Black actors are not just there to 'fly the flag' but should be recognised for their own talent

Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh has called for Black women in the entertainment industry to "celebrate who they are as artists" and remember that they are not just there to "fly the flag" for others.

Adjoa - who got flak for criticising the royals on the Buckingham Palace balcony on Coronation Day - believes actors of all races should be allowed to just do their jobs, without also having to fight racism or discrimination.

Speaking at the Pride of Britain Awards, Adjoa praised the next generation of young Black women for being "very thoughtful and wise", but warned they shouldn't forget they are also just "creative human beings" in their own right.

She said: "We are there to say, 'a door can open wider', we are there to say, 'stay in it', 'keep going', 'pick your battles', 'think about who you want to be'.

"But also: 'celebrate what you do as artists, you're not just there to fly the flag, you're there as a creative human being'."

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Adjoa Andoh as Lady Danbury with Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma in the second series of Bridgerton (LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX)

Adjoa made the appeal ahead of tonight's upcoming ITV documentary Breaking Through: with Zeze Millz.

Now 60 years-old with countless film and television appearances under her belt, Adjoa, who plays Lady Danbury in the hit Netflix show Bridgerton, shares her experience of being a Black woman in the industry, alongside fellow star Ruby Barker (Marina Thompson) and Coronation Street's Channique Sterling-Brown (Dee Dee Bailey).

With both actresses being 34 years her junior, Adjoa joked: "I was the oldest person on the panel, so I felt like a bit of an old git!"

Adjoa shares some of the joys of her career so far on tonight's documentary - and pays tribute to the character of Lady Danbury as a celebration of women who "took lemons and made lemonade". She especially means her own mother and grandmother, who she has described as both having "this ability to endure life, make the most of it, and have fun".

Adjoa used to have to do her own hair and make-up on set because the crew weren't used to working with darker skin tones or non-white hair (ITV)

But she also reveals that during the early days of her acting career, she was left with no other option than to do her own hair and make-up because there were no crew trained to work with darker skin tones or non-white hair textures.

"When I started to do stuff on screen in the 1980s, finding a make-up artist who could do my make-up or think of things to do with my hair was pretty much zero," she says on the show. "So I did my own make-up. I think things are changing, though I still think it is pretty lousy. There's a long way to go.

"I still find Black actors who are making their own arrangements for their hair."

She also reflects on how the pervasive trope of the "aggressive Black woman" works to police women's responses to such discrimination, forcing them to suppress their righteous anger for the sake of not being seen to confirm a stereotype.

"It's a stereotype that we have to navigate all the time," she adds. "Actually, it's perfectly justified that you'd be disappointed that you hadn't been accommodated."

Adjoa was the subject of 8,000 Ofcom complaints earlier this year when she pointed out the "terribly white" royal balcony line-up at King Charles' coronation (LIAM DANIEL/NETFLIX)

Bridgerton broke boundaries by being one of the first Regency-era dramas to feature a multi-racial mix of actors in a royal court.

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And Adjoa has spoken out on issues of race and racism within the real Royal Family, too.

In May, she appeared on ITV during its coverage of King Charles' coronation and commented that the Buckingham Palace balcony appeared "terribly white" in contrast to the "rich diversity" of Westminster Abbey.

Her observation sparked a huge backlash of more than 8,000 Ofcom complaints and was even branded "racist" and "divisive" by social media users, despite Adjoa insisting that she meant no offence.

*Watch the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, with TSB, on Thursday October 12 at 8pm on ITV

Mizy Judah Clifton